Girl Scouts celebrate Juliette Low's birthday
This fall, members of the Girl Scouts-Sybaquay Council celebrated their founder's birthday.
Girls in the Sybaquay Council celebrated Juliette Low's birthday Oct. 31. The girls made a birthday card and decorated cupcakes at Sybaquay's Girl Scout Center in Elgin, while they discussed her history and significance to the Girl Scout organization.
Low founded Girl Scouts in 1912 after visiting a friend, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts.
At that time, there were several thousand girls also interested in joining. Baden-Powell's sister, Agnes, decided to form an organization called Girl Guides to meet the needs of these girls. Low became involved with a group of Girl Guides in Scotland, teaching them semaphore signaling, knot-tying, knitting, cooking, first aid and hygiene, as well as ways they could make a living at home.
Pleased with the "troops" of Girl Guides in Europe, she saw the need for such a program in the United States. As soon as she arrived back in Savannah, Ga., she contacted a cousin. Her call to her cousin is now a part of Girl Scout history! "I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all America, and all the world, and we're going to start tonight!" Low said.
The first troop of 18 girls met in her home where 18 girls registered. Her home in Savannah still stands and is visited by droves of Girl Scouts from across the country.
Girl Scouts of the USA recently celebrated its 95th year as a leadership development organization for girls with 3.7 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouts is the leading authority on girls' healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts - Sybaquay Council is headquartered in Elgin and serves over 10,000 girls in more than 50 communities in McHenry County and parts of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Lake, LaSalle, and Kane counties. For information about joining Girl Scouts or to become a volunteer, call the council at (847) 741-5521.